From August 17 to 21, leaders and heads of delegation throughout the Micronesian subregion convened for the 28th Micronesian Islands Forum (MIF). Held in Pohnpei – one of four states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and home to a population of roughly 26,000 people – delegates met to discuss ongoing regional issues and identified areas for strategic collaboration under the theme “Promote Healthy Communities, Open Doors to Learning.” 

I attended the MIF as the head of Delegation and Special Representative for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a non-sovereign United States territory. As great powers pursue their foreign policy agendas, the event in Pohnpei revealed a continuing trend often overlooked in the Pacific: Micronesian governments are elevating unilateral hedging efforts in forums like the MIF, in pursuit of a unified risk-management strategy and regional identity. 

This year, the MIF met weeks before the more prominent Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting, which is being held in the neighboring Micronesian country of Palau from August 30 to September 4. Seated in the front row of the forum’s audience were senior members of the diplomatic corps posted in the FSM, including ambassadors representing Australia, China, and Japan, and the United States’ newest Chargé d’Affaires to Palikir, who arrived in the country just a week before the MIF. 

The venue itself was striking: the State of Pohnpei Administrative Building and Governor’s Office, built by Beijing in 2007 and renovated last year by the Chinese government and state-owned contractors. The Federated States of Micronesia have had formal diplomatic relations with Beijing since 1989, and is the only U.S. Freely Associated State – all of which are located in Micronesia – that maintains such a relationship.

China and the United States are not the only development partners competing in Pohnpei. Just two kilometers north of the Governor’s Office off the Dekehtik Causeway, Japan’s government is investing 4.6 billion yen ($30 million) in a project to expand the Pohnpei Port, the FSM’s primary maritime gateway. In the Pohnpeian outer island of Pingelap, Australia has financed a solar mini-grid and battery storage system for a geographically disconnected island community. These recent investments showcase the strategic importance of MIF member states to great powers and are not unique to FSM.

Similar practices can be found elsewhere across Micronesia. Foreign direct investment, infrastructure improvements, and diplomatic engagement have become increasingly visible in a region where small island economies are often balancing relationships with several development partners at once. For Micronesia, these relationships are not necessarily mutually exclusive. The same governments that have maintained a historically close partnership with the United States can pursue infrastructure and development partnerships with Japan, Australia, China, and others, depending on domestic needs and priorities.

The discussions held at the MIF centered around the outcomes of the forum’s several standing committees, including the approval of resolutions focused on U.S. deep sea mining efforts in Micronesia, the development of competitive commercial fisheries in Guam and the CNMI, and the financial stability of the forum itself. The latter action was arguably the most important to the MIF, functioning as a soft call to attending development partners and multilateral institutions for financial support. Member states underscored the need for sustainable funding to support a permanent secretariat, lifting the planning and implementation burden off of any future host government. The emphasis on establishing a more permanent institutional structure comes as Micronesian states continue to navigate their role within the broader Pacific regional infrastructure.

Five years ago, five Micronesian countries initiated the formal process to withdraw from the PIF after their supported candidate for the forum’s secretary-general position – a diplomat from the Marshall Islands – lost the body’s vote. The region instead decided to look inward, pursuing the strengthening of subregional collaboration. After reformation efforts in 2022 and 2023, those Micronesian nations rejoined the PIF, with the forum being held in the subregion for the first time since the 49th PIF in Nauru (now spelled Naoero) in 2018.

The history of that split remains relevant to the MIF today. The forum’s renewed focus on institutional sustainability is not only an administrative concern, but part of a broader effort to ensure that Micronesian governments have a regional mechanism through which they can coordinate their interests. Concurrently, the subregion’s reintegration into the PIF underscores that a robust MIF serves to complement, rather than contradict, expansive Pacific multilateralism.

This year’s PIF meeting further highlights the diplomatic complexity of Micronesia. Palau is hosting the meeting, with the Marshall Islands among the Micronesian states participating in the forum. Both countries maintain official diplomatic ties and a close relationship with Taiwan. Their participation comes as Micronesian governments continue to maintain contrasting relationships with the great powers active across the subregion, even as they pursue greater coordination on issues of common interest.

The timing of this year’s MIF, held two weeks before the PIF Leaders Meeting, provided an opportunity for Micronesian governments to coordinate ahead of the larger regional gathering. The standing committee outcomes raised in Pohnpei can be carried into discussions and actionable lines of effort in Palau. The proximity of the two meetings is particularly relevant this year, as the PIF returns to Micronesia. 

For the MIF, member states must work diligently to make the regional forum in its 28th iteration more durable. The return of Micronesian states to the Pacific Islands Forum has restored their participation in the broader Pacific community, while the continued development of the Micronesian Islands Forum provides a concentrated platform for Micronesia’s concerns. How effectively the forum can maintain that balance will largely depend on whether its members and development partners can provide the resources required to sustain it.

The attention surrounding this year’s meetings suggests that the stakes are becoming higher. Micronesia is receiving more development assistance and greater strategic interest from external powers. As ministers, diplomats, and development partners switch gears from Pohnpei to Palau, and as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau leads Washington’s delegation to the 55th PIF, one thing remains clear: all eyes are on Micronesia.